Pursuit
by Hoxopasnei
Summary: Orihime is the vessel of the rare pure soul. One night triggers a spiraling of events not of this world, causing her to be thrust into the world of angels, demons, gods, and devils. A demon with green eyes becomes her protector, the angels becoming a danger. But in the end, who was the puppet master? Rated M for some creative space in the future.
1. Tuesday Night: The Encounter

**A/N: Okay, three things: 1. I'm sorry about Moonlit for those of you who want me to update it, but I felt that this story was a lot closer to turing into the figurative butterfly than it is(I'm still working on it though), 2. the lines indicate POV change, be it from one character to the other or to third person...though you'll probably figure that out quickly enough, and 3...**

**Disclaimer: I, to my utter disappointment, bear no ownership to any characters or plot of Bleach.**

**If I did, Ulquiorra would still be alive. Ya know, bad guy turned good and then ends up with the female protagonist. But that isn't happening and that's why we of this fandom write as if he were still among us.**

**Also it has been brought to my attention that this story is very similar in the beginning to another so...**

******SECOND DISCLAIMER: the beginning of this story was inspired by Blumberberry's Pain and Pleasure.**

**HERE WE GO!**

* * *

Orihime was walking out of the grocery store. It was well past the daylight hours. Well past the time she should have gone to bed for the night. Well past the time that anyone would have been around to save her.

The soft, padding footsteps were not what caught their attention. Nor was it the crinkling of the bags that held her purchases. It was not even the undeniable physical beauty she possessed, the long, flowing sun colored hair, the swell of curves, or long, shapely legs.

Though they may have thought they attacked her for those reasons, it was not so.

It always has been and it always will be that impure and sickly souls will be attracted to the pure soul. The pure soul that only roams the earth once every thousand years. The pure soul that resided inside her body.

The one man quickly became two, four, and finally five men that were following her unsuspecting form. Silently and stealthily they followed her every step.

As it neared midnight, one of them whistled out to her, gaining her attention. She turned her head in surprise, eyes widening in fear when she saw her following party.

"Hey, sweetheart!" Her face paled. "Why don't you come with us? Have some fun?" Raucous laughter followed.

She began to run, knowing the black intent of her pursuers.

* * *

Normally I would have brought Tatsuki or one of the guys with me if I was going out this late, not that this was a frequent occurrence. I took a turn, in an attempt to shake them off my trail, only to hit a dead end.

A person walked into clear view from the darkness. Four more men followed behind. They were dressed in black and bore the stench of alcohol. I cringed as they sauntered ever closer to where I stood, cowering in fear of what I knew what was going to happen.

"Oh, we got a good one this time!"

"Grab her, dammit!"

"I saw her first!"

"We can take turns, right?!"

I couldn't run, there was no way out. I was trapped as a bird in a cage. So I did the only thing that would get me any help. I screamed at the top of my lungs.

Before I knew what was happening, I was roughly pressed against the brick wall; the man in the middle held my body flush against his. I felt something hard protruding from his pants press against my thigh. "Oh god." I rasped, struggling to get him off of me, but it was useless. I was going to be violated in the worst form I could imagine. There was nothing I could do about it. They were just too strong. They outnumbered me five to one.

I could barely see anything, the moon was still hidden behind a cloud, as one of the man's hands crept up under my shirt. My body filled with disgust. I writhed about, straining desperately to get him off me, but the man only guffawed.

"P-please! Don't do this!" His hand slipped under my shirt. I was about ready to scream for help again when-

I saw the darkness behind my attackers move, startling me into abrupt silence.

The shape wavered as it slowly crept down the brick wall. I was able to just make out a long, narrow, black form with what looked like two white lances pointed towards the ground. It slinked and slithered down to the ground. I honed in on the peculiar shape rather than what the vulgar men were saying they were going to do to me.

I determined that whatever it was, it was coming down to where I was.

"Let's just do this!" I focused once again on the terrors that had plagued my mind seconds ago. Gaudy laughter surrounded me. They started to paw at my shirt, their drunkenness making them unable to use their hands properly. I struggled, trying to break free with my legs, kicking as hard as I could.

And a huge gust of wind whipped through the alley. The moon shone out of the wispy clouds in eerie silver light.

"Who're you?!" I couldn't see who it was at the end of the alley, but I heard the sounds of someone being choked.

The men that were holding me down stopped what they were doing and turned to see who had interrupted them.

I could make out the shape of a man about thirty feet away at the entrance of the alley before I was thrown to the ground.

"Hey, you! What'd you do ta our buddy?" One of them slurred his words.

Sideways on the cement, I looked at the stranger.

I was met with something that I knew was not of this world. At first glance you could possibly mistake it for a man, as I had. The general shape was there; a torso, legs, arms, and a head with human proportions and placements. But then I noticed the bone-white horns, the fur on its limbs, the menacing, black claws and talons that adorned each finger and toe, and most prevalent of all was the hole in the center of its chest, appearing tattooed to bleed black blood.

But the part that disturbed me the most was its eyes. I could see even from this distance that they had a vivid green sclera and a glowing yellow iris crying black tears. And its focus, at the moment, was entirely and terrifyingly on me.

"Hey! I'm talking to you!"

The creature tore its eyes away from me, honing in on the intoxicated wreck swaying before it. As though lightning struck, the man was being choked by one of the creature's clawed hands. It leaned in close to the man's neck and opened its mouth slightly, appearing to breathe in slowly as a shadowy mass came out. As the last of the shadow left the man's body he started to crumble; when he was unceremoniously dropped he dissipated into nothing but ash to scatter in the wind of the night.

The remaining three men, in their states of intoxication, finally realized that the creature before them was _not_ here to share the joys of cake and cookies. They tried to run past it, thinking that the alley was wide enough that it wouldn't be able to block them all from escaping.

Before they got within ten feet of it, the same force of wind as before stopped them in their tracks. A pair of bat-like wings thrust forth from behind the creature and easily blocked all escape out of the twenty foot wide alley. They even looked like they could extend further.

The creature spared them only a glance before, in a movement akin to lightning, lashing out with a whip-like, black, elegant tail at one, strangling him till not even a breath of air was able to find its way through his lips. The other one took only a second to capture with one hand, holding him effortlessly off the ground.

But its focus was not on its captives. It was on the third and final person. He was frozen with terror, trembling at the prospect of what would happen to him at this creature's hands. I watched as the creature studied the only man that was not captured as though pondering whether he was worth it. Only a few seconds later it slowly and deliberately looked away. And spoke, spoke in a voice that was so deathly quiet and velvety soft that I almost missed it. It said, "The darkness of your soul is insufficient for my tastes."

After hearing him speak, and it was most definitely a he, seemingly to the man he was strangling with his tail, he slowly and deliberately folded his wings so that the last man could pass.

I could only watch as, after the survivor had fled, terrified, into the night, he clasped his death-grip tighter, all while the humans gasped for air. The creature brought the men closer to his face. Unhurriedly, he shut his eyes as his lips parted, slowly breathing in until their bodies were nothing but ash in the air.

When he had finished enjoying his…meal… he turned and looked at me.

But I could not bring myself to be afraid. It was pure idiocy, the most delusional conclusion I've ever come to. But…there was just something in me that said he would not harm me, some voice that whispered from the obviously less rational part of my brain. He started to slink towards me with long, graceful strides, cautious, as though I could flee at any moment...even though he was blocking the only exit.

He stopped a mere few feet from me and reached towards me with one clawed hand, expression never betraying his thoughts or changing in the least. But he froze before coming within a foot of my person. His alien eyes stared at something that only he could see.

A cool feeling came over me. I hadn't realized that I was altogether too hot, burning, roasting, and scorched until I cooled down. It was eerie, creeping over me like a fog. But it was so nice, soothing, and calm. It was as if everything had been blaring at concert volume and had suddenly become quiet and peaceful. It was akin to that feeling of being so hot and humid that your shirt was sticking to you like a second skin and then a wonderful breeze granting you a reprieve. I shivered from the wonderful flutters all up and down my body, rousing something in me that was utterly foreign.

Regaining my senses, I sat up a looked directly at him, but still he would not focus. Then, as suddenly and unexpectedly as he had frozen in place, he recoiled from me, his features twisting minutely in shock and pain, his hand shooting to the hole in the center of his chest.

His gaze locked onto me as though I had wounded him irreparably.

His magnificent wings spread, about to take off. The demon's eyes met mine one final time.

And he vanished into the night.


	2. Relativity

**HELLO! Okay it's a little shorter, but I wanted to establish what Ulquiorra's been going through.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything of Bleach...sadly.**

******SECOND DISCLAIMER: the beginning of this story was inspired by Blumberberry's Pain and Pleasure.**

* * *

Still in considerable pain, I had flown as fast as I could away from her. The female with long fiery hair and kind grey eyes. The human with the absolutely intoxicating soul. She who I had unintentionally saved while hunting a meal. The female who, after a few moments of utter bliss by just being in close proximity to her, had caused me more pain than I had ever felt in in my two thousand years in the core of my hollow. It screamed and burned, like her very presence was flaying me from the inside out. I wasn't exactly sure how I'd felt it when there wasn't anything there in the first place, but I had nonetheless.

It was no use. I could not rid the thoughts of her from my head. I turned around, careening sharply to the right, and flew above where I had last left her.

She had gathered up her bags with what I had assumed were her purchases, and had walked very slowly out of the alley. She was obviously shaken from our...encounter.

I followed her all the way to an apartment complex in a moderately well off section of Karakura. I watched from the skies as she entered the building and climbed the stairs to her fourth floor apartment. I flew around to the side that her windows faced out towards.

I had never come across a soul such as this, causing both pleasure and pain in equal measure. I had eaten souls, the darkest I could locate, increasing my own strength with every ounce of blackened soul I consumed. Not once had I ever wanted to consume the light ones. They were delicious, yes, but every module of light would weaken the darkness inside me. It was better to eat the cold, burnt, black ones and increase my strength so that I could survive than to eat lavishly and weaken myself.

I suppose it was more of a habit now that I had escaped the clutches of Hell. When I had 'lived' there, I had only been allowed a day to gather and devour all the souls I could before I was ordered back to await my turn again. I had to eat as much as possible during those days. If I did not become strong quickly, then I would be eaten by another demon stronger than myself. Survival of the fittest as the humans might say.

To become stronger was the fundamental reason demons consumed the dark souls. I had so much more time than all of the other demons to gather my strength since I had escaped. I had found a loophole in my Hollow Oath, and had left at the first chance I got. It is unlikely that any more than a few had noticed my absence. It was no use keeping attendance when every demon was controlled through the fear of pain that violating the Hollow Oath would cause.

But the fact remained that I was drawn to something that would weaken me. Why?

I landed on the sidewalk, searching for something that would give me a better view of her. I spotted an electrical pole close to one of her windows. I used the inexhaustible strength of my wings to leap up to the top and perched myself on it, digging the claws lining my feet into the wood.

She put away her purchases and changed her clothes. She slipped into bed not long after that. I remained there for a few hours, puzzling over her. When I had come within close proximity to her, I had felt complete bliss. It was a fluttering, warm, bright sensation coursing through my entire being. But then it had reached my hollow and that's when the pain erupted. What was confusing was that this was not what light souls do. They leave you with a good feeling, warm and tasty, but they do not hurt after a few seconds. I had never heard of a soul causing pain before.

It simply wasn't something a normal soul was capable of.

At once, I realized what I had discovered unknowingly. She was the pure soul. The pure soul that would be in charge of Heaven after she died and the previous one went into retirement. They were not perfect by any means, but they were well intentioned and good natured until the day they died. They were the kindness in the human spirit. Because they were so important, they had evolved to have a sort of defense mechanism. Whenever they contacted a demon soul, they would overwhelm it with pleasure, and make their escape while the demon was frozen, lost in bliss.

The pain was not actually pain. It was the agony of going from the absolute ecstasy of being in their presence back into the pain and torture that a demon shouldered every day of their existence without realizing it because they were so used to it.

And since I had spent the last four hundred years in the world of the living eating dark souls, my pain carried the weight of roughly the equivalent of half the demons in Hell. My strength was my weakness in this case. How _ironic_. I had done nothing but build what I had believed to be strength in the long years of my time in the world of the living and now that strength was being turned against me by a mere mortal girl who was helpless against trash.

And yet, for some inexplicable reason, I still wanted to be closer to her, to feel that bliss. It was worth it.

I had lost track of time. The sun was peeking over the horizon. I fled into an abandoned building that was scheduled for demolition. It would have to do for the day. I curled into the least crumbled rock-covered corner and, despite how cramped it was for my rather substantial wings, fell into much needed slumber.


	3. Was It Real?

**As always I do not own Bleach or anything really.**

******SECOND DISCLAIMER: the beginning of this story was inspired by Blumberberry's Pain and Pleasure.**

**PLEASE REVIEW THEY INSPIRE ME**

* * *

I didn't dream strangely enough. One would think I'd have nightmares after what had happened. I thought I'd be trying to get to sleep for hours and only getting a few hours of sleep. But no. I was able to go home, put my groceries away and almost immediately fall to sleep. Granted, I had been in a sort of fuzzy-bunny daze, but I thought I'd lose some sleep after last night!

I was beginning to question whether it had really happened like I remembered it. But I saw what I had seen. I was sure of it! There was no way I conjured up all those sensations when he had come near, or the burning heat when he had left. Not even I'm that imaginative! It was like being suffocated, like going from the sweet bliss of air conditioning to the heavy weight of a humid August day. And it only lasted a moment, but I remember it. There's no way my imagination had come up with that! How could your brain create something unlike anything you've never felt before?! It didn't and doesn't so it had to be real!

That was my conclusion to the previous night's events as I got dressed in my school uniform and ate my scrambled eggs with cream cheese. I skipped down the four flights of stairs two at a time.

It was a beautiful day out. The trees were in their main performance of color, reds and oranges and yellows, scattered upon the earth and up above my head. The air was not yet cold enough to warrant a coat, but fall was here to stay.

I hummed as I exited my apartment building and played hopscotch on the sidewalk around the corner. I stopped at the telephone pole that was right outside my bedroom window. I checked my watch. I still had a few minutes before the bus came. The bus wasn't a school bus, but I lived far enough away that I needed to ride a bus to another stop about five miles closer to the school. From there I would walk another two miles to the school.

But when I stood beside that pole, the pole that I had stood by through rain, snow, and fog, something was different from every time before. I felt that cool aura, that soothingly cool presence.

There was not a doubt in my mind. It was him. He was real! He had to be because he was here! I could feel it! I took another step towards it, noticing how as I got closer the aura intensified.

I thought about how he had looked when he had gotten close to me. He had frozen as though he had come into contact with something that wasn't physically there, just like I had! Maybe he had felt something from me as I had felt from him! And if his…his presence was still lingering here beside the pole, then maybe that meant that he had been here! If he could do that then maybe I could too…that was the line of thought that convinced me to lean into the pole, trying to infuse my…aura into it.

I hoped it worked because a few moments later the bus came and I had to hop on.

The ride was nice. I've always loved to see what kind of people get on. Some are old, young, nice, mean, sassy, mellow, happy, sad, but what amazes me is that we are all in the same place, doing the same thing. I might have nothing else in common with these people but we're all riding the same bus.

It only took about ten minutes to get to the next stop where I get off. I smiled at the bus driver as I got off. I had never spoken to the guy, but if I were him, I'd want somebody to acknowledge that I was there and that I existed. I'd want to know that someone appreciated what I did for them every day.

Tatsuki, my best friend in the whole wide world lives really close to the stop where I'm dropped off. So she waits for me there so we can walk to school together, just as she had that day.

"Hi Tatsuki!" I smiled, stepping off the last step.

"Hey Orihime! How are you?" She was dressed very similarly to me, with a grey skirt and jacket. "Oh, I'm great! But last night these men were chasing me and then this guy with wings and horns showed up and he saved me, but when we got too close together he flew away!" I told her the truth, knowing she wouldn't believe a word. She thinks I'm still bubbly and silly and like strange foods.

I still do like strange foods of course. But somewhere along the way I lost my silliness, my odd little quirks were still there, just more subdued. Somewhere along the way I had grown up. Everyone still expected me to be and treated me like I was helpless and naïve. They treated me like a constant damsel in distress. I didn't have the heart to tell them that I wasn't that person anymore, that I don't need to be protected from mere ladybugs and grasshoppers. That I don't have the imagination I used to have, with robots and bunnies and giant, walking and talking dolphins. But it would break their hearts to know that, so from the time I turned fifteen and realized that I wasn't that person anymore, to now, two years later, I kept the façade.

I asked her how her various sports were coming along so she could babble on about it so I didn't have to go through the work of creating scenarios that didn't happen. It was about a half hour before we reached the school. Tatsuki and I parted ways. We had a different first period. But in my first class was Ichigo and the girl who had transferred about a month ago, Rukia. She was so serious, but didn't seem to know certain things, simple little things like how to use a juice box. It was a little odd.

Ichigo and she had seemed to know each other from outside school. Rumors about her being a one-night-stand had circulated. It bothered me a little. It didn't really help that now she and he seemed to spend a lot of time together. They always seemed to be somewhere together.

But I couldn't bring myself to hate her, or to even dislike her. She had become a part of the group. She had funny drawings and, despite being so little, had a vicious temper. She had become rather protective of me too, I had noticed. I guess I just come off as someone who needs to be protected.

School ended rather quickly and without incident, although Ichigo did knock Keigo to the floor again during third period, but that was normal.

I met up with Tatsuki after the last bell. She and I had planned a while ago to go to the mall, even if we didn't get much. There were lots of fun things to do without actually buying anything. We raced up the down escalators, danced for the people outside the glass elevator while we were in it, serenaded people while we stood in front of this giant rotating ball. I ended up buying a new shirt at her insistence, but I got another without her noticing. It wasn't really my usual style, entirely black with subtle, dark green lace lining the deep v- neckline. I wasn't even going to admit to myself that I got it because it had his color scheme.

We didn't get on the bus back home until nine, and I didn't get home until nine thirty. I said farewell to Tatsuki and climbed the stairs to my apartment. I was really tired from everything we'd done at the mall, so I decided to just take a shower and go to bed; my homework and studying could wait for the next night.

* * *

I watched the sun on the surrounding stone walls fade as the sun made its descent for the evening. Unfurling my wings, I listened to the telltale clicks of my talons on the stone floor as I stepped out of the shadow and towards the hole I had entered through. I waited for a few moments, making sure that the sun was gone, before extending my black wings to their fullest extent and soaring out.

My body directed me towards her without my mind's consent. I landed a few hundred feet from the building, not wanting someone to poke their heads out and see a giant bat flying above an apartment building in the night sky, folded my wings close to my body, and walked to the pole where I had viewed her window the previous night.

Her overwhelmingly warm and pleasant soul residue emanated from it. I could feel it all over. She had been here today. She had stood right where I was standing. Possibly touched the wood of the pole with her hand.

I couldn't stop it. I was drawn in. I leaned into the pole relishing how warm it was, treasuring every second of bliss. I had to be closer. Tentatively, pressing my hand to the pole and held it in front of my face, bringing it to my dark lips. I tried to restrain myself, to pull back from what my body wanted so desperately to do, but I could not. My tongue flicked out across my fingertips. It was so irresistible. A drug.

In only a second the taste was gone and my tongue was met with nothing but the blandness of my hands. I almost felt relief, now that I was back in control of my impulses. Not a second later, twinges of pain swept their way through my body from my hollow, but I could withstand it. It wasn't like last time; I didn't feel the need to jerk back, electrocuted from her soul.

I assumed it was because I was not close to her, only to something she had touched. Or perhaps it was because it was less concentrated.

Without my volition, I was swept up to my perch on the top of the pole. Unbidden, my thoughts flitted to the previous night. When I had gotten too close, when I had begun to feel her soul, her eyes had glazed over, almost as mine had, so distracted by the pleasure. It couldn't have been a pleasant experience for her by any means, but I knew that she had felt something from my presence.

I wanted desperately to venture closer, so be near that wonderful aura. But if she was the pure soul, which I was quite sure that she was, she would have angels, known to her or not, nearby, watching her. If I went closer they may be able to sense me. They would take her away to someplace where she would be 'safe' until she died and became the next god.

I climbed to the top of the pole, not being able to resist being as close as possible. The time of darkness passed without my knowledge as I contemplated what this meant.

Angels would be near and because of that I was in danger. It had been a long time since I had faced one, and I was far stronger now. But angels were resolute and persistent; they did not give up, and it wasn't as if I'd even encountered one that was actually powerful, only the weak trash.

They might find out that I'd been around within mere minutes, or it might not be until they actually found me. It really depended on their sensitivity to demon souls. I wouldn't think they would allow their less-perceptive to be in charge of the guarding of the most important soul in the world of the living. But who knows, angels can be ignorant, oblivious trash. Either way, with the pure soul around they would be quick to alert their superiors of my presence in the area once they found it.

However, I did know that their resources were spread rather thin. Unfortunately, having such a concentratedly demonic 'aura', did tend to leave obvious traces in the places I'd landed. They were quite keen, I knew, to catch and kill such a powerful demon such as I. My hide and horns a sort of trophy. But I'd perfected methods of throwing them off my trail over the last few centuries. They would be unable to connect my last feeding ground to this one.

Perhaps it was safe to stay here for a while. Just maybe.

So lost in my thoughts, I did not notice the sun grace the horizon with its presence, nor did I notice that it was up until I felt the searing pain on the tip of my folded wing.

Instinct commanded that I flee, and flee I did. I dove into the nearest opening, which so happened to be the window to a basement of a small shop that seemed to be in a rather out-of-the-way location.

But I did not concern myself with that as I examined the tip of my wing. It was gone, crumbled to ash, much the same as when I consumed a human's soul and their body turned to dust. I sighed and probed the exposed flesh with the tips of my fingers. It was only a small amount, the size of my palm perhaps. I would regenerate quite easily, within a few moments.

The pain of my small injury diminished quickly as I fell into the trance of sleep as the rising of the sun commanded.


	4. Breaking and Entering

**REVIEW-IT INSPIRES ME! GIVE ME 10 AND I'LL POST THE NEXT CHAPTER!**

**As is the ever-disappointing fact of a fan fiction writer, I do not own Bleach...to my sadness. *sniffles***

******SECOND DISCLAIMER: the beginning of this story was inspired by Blumberberry's Pain and Pleasure.**

* * *

I felt oddly well rested when I woke up. Better than I'd felt in a while actually. And when my eyes zeroed in on my alarm clock I knew why. I had overslept.

I don't even remember getting out of the bed, the next thing that I can recall is grabbing a piece of pumpkin bread with peanut butter, putting on my shoes and running down the stairs so fast that I heard a few people yell at me from the insides of their apartments for being so loud.

And as fate would have it, the bus wasn't there when I screeched to a stop. I thought that I had missed it and that I would have to call a cab that would have to take me to school and I would have to call Tatsuki and then I would have to wait around because I got to school too early-oh there it was! The bus was late too!

I was so happy when I got on that the driver gave me a look as though considering whether I was mentally disturbed or not. And I didn't even bother correcting her, I was just too happy!...which might've been the problem, but whatever.

If Tatsuki noticed that I was a little happier from my good fortune this morning, she didn't say anything.

Ichigo wasn't at school today. Neither was Rukia. There were whispers that they were off somewhere together. I didn't want to believe them. But everything pointed to it being true. They had been seen together going into a store, talking near Ichigo's house, Rukia had even gone in! They were all from sources she trusted. They denied having a relationship at all, or even having known each other before Rukia transferred here. But I knew they did. _Everyone_ knew.

I tried not to look too glum; but I saw Tatsuki give me a worried look and I knew I had failed.

When school was out, I went straight home. I did the laundry, vacuumed, and cleaned dishes like a woman possessed. Then I snatched the gallon of ice cream that was in the freezer and put that and some jalapeño peppers in a bowl and flipped on some cartoons. I didn't want to deal with people. People sucked.

I had liked Ichigo for years. He was just so completely unafraid to speak up, to stand for what he believed in. No one ever needed to save him. He was strong. He got picked on all the time because of his hair, and it was never good. He had fought off thugs from off the street, outnumbered twenty to one. But he never ever gave up. I think that was why I was attracted to him.

It helped that he was really, really cute. But...maybe we weren't meant to be. Maybe it was never in the cards.

I shoveled the peppers and ice cream into my mouth, trying to distract myself from my troubles. I got into this sort of zone where I just eat while staring at the screen, but not really thinking about anything in particular. It was a nice zone.

My zone was interrupted when my spoon made a distinctive screeching sound, signaling the end of my ice cream. Wow…when did that happen?...oh. The clock on the little coffee table read ten thirty. I had been sitting here for five and a half hours doing absolutely nothing. What a wonderful use of my time.

Knowing that if I were to stay up any later I would regret it tomorrow, I groaned and stretched and popped my joints all the way to the bathroom and started my shower.

* * *

The sun was well below the horizon when he arrived at the pole, having stopped for a moment or two to 'eat'. However, unexpectedly, her essence drowned the pole. Once again, he could not control himself as his body launched itself towards the intoxicating aroma, his hands grasping at every purchase, his tail wrapping itself several times around, and his wings encompassing the entirety, creating a cocoon that only he was allowed inside. It was an incredibly disappointing amount of time before he had gotten every drop possible out of the wood.

A errant thought made him pause. Surely last night he had left a certain echo-presence of himself, enough for her to tell the difference. It would have been cold, uncomfortable even, for her to stand next to the pole for that long. It was an impossibility that she did not notice, the difference from the norm being unavoidably noticeable to the pure soul. What remained of her had been enough to indicate she stood there for a longer amount of time than it would've taken her to notice.

He shook his head. The answers lied in that room. He would not get them otherwise.

His instincts only too eager, he flew to perch himself on the flat surface on the top again. It was rather late for a human, he supposed; she would probably already be sleeping. It took him only a second to figure out that that was not true as he watched her emerge from a steam-filled room, completely soaked.

He concluded that she had been participating in the human custom of bathing. He knew it involved a lot of water and some chemicals in a bottle, but demons did not require such time wasting acts.

The view from the unusually large window of her bedroom allowed him to watch as she grabbed a book from a large stack and plopped herself down onto her bed. Patiently, he waited as slowly she first put the book down and then her eyes closed in what he assumed was sleep.

After a moment, he was convinced he was in the clear, he flew the thirty feet to place himself in front of the opened window, the hooks on the joint of his wings scrambling to finally gain purchase on the crevices in the bricks.

Once he was sure that he wasn't going to fall inconveniently, he poked his head through the open window. It was rather foolish for her to leave her window open, he thought, anything could get in. Though, she was a few stories up, so the chance of a human getting in there was infinitesimal, so it wasn't too dangerous…

He looked to the left to see her gray eyes staring back at him in utter shock.

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	5. It Was Not the Most Graceful of Days

**OKAY WHO'S PUMPED?!**

**I DON'T OWN BLEACH...oh the sadness**

******SECOND DISCLAIMER: the beginning of this story was inspired by Blumberberry's Pain and Pleasure.**

**Neither do I own any of John Green's work, including The Fault in Our Stars. He's a fantastic author though, you should really read his books.**

**My great thanks to my reviewers! It brings me encouragement to see that you like my work! Although, some of you guys are stinkers. Come on, give me an actual review, something you liked and/or something you didn't like. I don't really care what it is, but I do care about writing something you'll enjoy!**

**OK I WILL RELENT, JUST 5 REVIEWS FOR ONE CHAPTER. COME ON GUYS ITS NOT HARD! PLEASE!**

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She flopped down on her bed after taking one of the most relaxing showers she'd ever experienced. The started reading _The Fault in Our Stars_ by John Green. It was a sad book, but thought provoking at times.

Orihime had closed her eyes, thinking. It was then that she heard the unfamiliar sound of scratching outside her wall.

She sat up, eyes wide, listening.

It stopped quite suddenly. Fearfully, she noticed that she had left her window open from earlier. It was wide open, perfect for whatever boogie man was out there coming to eat her in her pink pajamas. She would look like frosting to it, she thought.

Her heart pounded in her ears, drowning out all other sounds except for the roaring in her ears.

A pair of long, white spear-like objects entered first, followed by a mop of inky black hair surrounding a pale face. A pair of eyes glanced around the light blue walls of her room before landing on Orihime herself. They were a green unlike any other she'd ever seen, a glowing, almost haunting, light shone from them.

It was him. The being that saved her a few nights ago.

He did not move for a moment, seeming startled to find her staring directly back at him.

Then, almost more swiftly than she could see, his head left the entrance of her window.

"Wait! Don't go!" She cried, her debt to him quickly forthcoming in her mind. Her hair fanned out behind her as she leapt from her bed and to stand in front of her window, fortunately quick enough that he had not flown away.

A violent and decidedly winter rush of wind flooded through the opening, chilling her down to her bones.

"Come in?" She said, shivering. The ginger didn't know why exactly she invited the dangerous being into her home, but it was cold gosh darnit! It's bad manners to leave someone who you're indebted to out in the cold!

He continued to look at her flatly for a few seconds, considering her offer: the implications along with the possible outcomes, before taking her up on it and slowly situating himself, compressing his expansive wings so that he could fit through the opening without injury.

Once inside, he relaxed, enabling his wingspan to shroud the room in their ebony depths. He did not speak. They merely looked at each other, green and gray, contemplating.

"What _are_ you?" She whispered. He was not man, nor beast, nor bird. So what new category did he belong in?

He inhaled as though to answer her question but suddenly froze in place, muscles tensed, eyes wide, and nostrils flared. He did not look to be on the hunt, rather, she got the impression that he was not entirely aware of his present surroundings, that he was experiencing something else.

"Hey...are you okay?" Noticing his strange paralysis, she took a small step towards him, her arms outstretched, as if to aid him.

Another vicious wind whipped through and Orihime watched in horrified confusion as the green-eyed demon collapsed as if in slow motion onto her white carpet.

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…

…

…

"WHAT?! No, no, no, no. This cannot be happening. Nope, nope, nope. Didn't happen! There is not a bat-man on my carpet! Haha! Batman! How did you come up with that, brain? Where did that come from? HahaHA!" My brain kind of went through a bit of a freaky stage of denial at that point.

"I'll just close my eyes and it'll disappear! Gone, gone, gone! Never happened! Ok, go!" I shut my eyes tight, silently willing the creature to disappear. I honestly have no idea why I chose to freak out, not when the creature was conscious and had the ability to maim me, oh no, my mind found the passed out version much more freak-out worthy.

I peeked a little.

Still there. Damn.

I took a shudderingly deep breath, concentrating on the slowing of my heartbeat, waiting patiently for it to settle to a staccato instead of a hummingbird's wingbeat.

My eyes opened to find him still laying there. Okay. I'm okay. I'm fine.

I took another deep breath, then walked over to where he lay. His sinewy wing was stretched over the sharp edges of my desk-chair, points poking through the delicate membrane. So I steeled my nerves and did the nice thing. Hesitantly, I gripped the bony edge and coaxed it over to fold against his side, repeating the process with the other one.

My room was getting progressively frigid from the window, so to fix it I walked over. I was about to slam it down when, out of the corner of my eye, I saw a black rope-like thing draped over the edge.

I followed it to find that it led to him. It was his tail. So, just as carefully as I had with his wings I lightly took hold of it and went to place it on the floor. But I hadn't expected it to be quite to soft. There was a sort of little tuft of fur at the end, pure black like the rest of his fur. You cannot imagine how soft it felt, like liquid silk, flowing smoother than anything I'd ever touched before.

Quite suddenly, I realized how creepy I was being. Like, if he were to wake up, how would begin I explain this? 'Oh, hi! Your tail? Oh yeah, see I was getting it out of the window so I could close it, but it's _so_ soft I just sat here to pet you?'

That would be a wonderful first impression. Way to go Orihime, you've reached a whole new level of weird. Congrats.

Without warning, it jerked out of my grasp, falling to the floor, but not before the tuft at the end brushed the side of my cheek. I just stood there for a moment, slightly dazed by the sensation. I glanced quickly to see if he had woken up, but my worries were for naught.

A moment later I was able to shake myself out of the trance and I continued in my action of closing the drafty window. After making sure it was shut tightly, I crept around him, watching him for any movements indicating that he was actually awake.

I plopped down on the bed, forgetting that it creaked and flinching when it did.

What exactly did I just do? Sure, he'd saved me from a horrible fate, but that could have just as easily been me being eaten… or whatever it was that he'd done. It was probably just a coincidence that I'd been there. And now I'd voluntarily allowed him inside my home just because I'd felt indebted to him? He was a proven killer! He wasn't even human! For all I knew he was here to kill me to make sure there weren't any witnesses! Thanks, brain, for not realizing this sooner.

What had Tatsuki always told me? Don't trust strangers and don't let people you don't know in your house. And what had I just done?! ...well, she also told me not to go out after dark alone and I outright obliterated that advice. I sense a pattern.

But now what? I have a literal bat-man with horns, a tail, and wings in my apartment.

I supposed that there was no sense in this useless worrying. He was an intelligent being, if the fact that he had spoken before was anything to gage by. He hadn't looked like he was going to try to 'silence me'. Maybe I could talk to him when he woke up.

I must have sat there for hours, just waiting for him to jerk awake suddenly. But it never happened.

And so, as the long hours of the night ticked by, my eyelids grew heavier and heavier, until I drowsily wondered why eyelid lifting wasn't in the Olympics. It didn't take long after that for my body to win the fight and I finally fell asleep.

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**REVIEW IF YOU THINK ULQUIORRA'S YUMMY!...or if you have something to say...**


	6. Panicking Time!

**Alright, I do love to hear from you guys, so review. 5 reviews=1 chapter**

**I have heard, though I won't be saying names because I'm not sure if they're okay with that, that I should increase the length of the chapters. I really do try to keep the length of my chapters consistent, and I was doing short chapters for this so that I could write them easily and you guys wouldn't have to wait too long. I totally get it, by the way, I like stories with longer chapters too. But...if you want longer chapters you might have to wait a few days more, and I guess I could increase the length from 4 pages to 6 or 7...but I don't want to suddenly jump from short chapters to really long chapters 10 pgs long so I'll go with 6-7. You guys are making me work really hard ;)**

**Bumbleberry's Pain and Pleasure inspired the beginning, but from here on out they part ways. You should still read Pain and Pleasure though, it's awesome.**

**As always, I hope you're enjoying it, please review, and I don't own Bleach!**

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Riiinnng!

She slapped her hand onto the top of the alarm clock, the reflex well used and well rehearsed after many years of hating the little machine, but forced to keep it out of necessity. The little booger knew it too, she could swear it mocked her.

Blearily, the red head rubbed the corners of her eyes, trying to clear her vision of the unwanted fuzziness.

She swallowed a few times, attempting to rid her mouth of the horrible taste that is morning breath.

Slowly, she sat up and looked around, the events that had led to her sleeping in such an awkward position coming to the forefront of her mind. It didn't even take her a second to locate him, after all, how could you miss an all-encompassing black mass?

He was awake and he had moved to the opposite side of the room, huddled in a corner, wings folded tightly and almost reaching the ceiling.

"What are you doing over there?" She asked after taking a moment to absorb the strangeness of their current situation.

"The sunlight does not agree with me." He spoke in the same soft, velvety voice, his tail flicking forward to show her the burnt tip.

"Oh god, I'm sorry! I didn't know!" She felt bad, though there was no way she could have predicted it. The sunlight from her bedroom window was covering almost the whole room with the exception of the small space he occupied.

"It will be healed shortly. Do not concern yourself." He murmured quietly.

"You're sure you're fine?" She asked, to be certain.

He did not respond, merely granting her a flat expression.

She mused for a moment, going over to the window and drawing the curtains so that the sun couldn't shine through.

"There. Now you don't have to cramp yourself in the corner." She turned to him, triumphant.

He took a few small steps out of the small space, allowing his wings to extend slightly, tail raised off the floor.

"So... why did you come here?" She really had to know if he was going to, in fact, eliminate her. It seemed like something rather important to know.

He stared at her for a moment, gloriously green eyes never wavering, never changing.

"Why, you ask? There are... certain circumstances. However, that shall have to wait for a later time. If I am not mistaken, this is a weekday, correct?"

Her eyes widened, abruptly remembering the fact that this was Friday, a school day. And she was behind. Way behind.

"Okay, you stay put! I'll be back by four! Crap on a hockey stick, I'm gonna be late!" She shouted as she rushed around, grabbing a waffle and smothering it with bean paste, changing as she brushed her teeth, and attempting to brush her hair while shoving her feet into her flats.

She whipped out her door, thundering down the stairs and going at a flat-out run to the bus stop, barely catching it as it was about to leave, and tried to catch her breath for the duration of the trip.

"You look like a devil's chasing you." A withered old lady croaked.

Orihime looked up in surprise, the words striking a little too close to home. But she gave a light little laugh, brushing it off.

"Hey Tatsuki!" She said as she stepped off the bus to find her best friend waiting there for her.

"Hey! TGIF, know what I'm saying?" She smiled.

"Yeah." Orihime laughed, trying to seem as if she wasn't distracted.

They walked to school in amicable silence for the most part. Orihime used the time to think about who lay in wait back in her apartment. Would he stay? What did he have to tell her? Why did he seek her out? Why, why, why?

The questions circled in her head like vultures, unrelenting and ominous.

* * *

Her distractedness wasn't really an issue until lunch, where her friends noticed she wasn't altogether present.

She was sitting across from Rukia, and diagonal from Ichigo, eating her cucumber and rice sandwich with ketchup.

"Hey, Orihime. Are you okay?" Ichigo's voice finally pierced through her haze.

"Oh, I'm fine Ichigo. Why'd you ask?" She smiled a bit nervously.

"I dunno. You don't seem like you've been here today. That's all." He looked closely at her, nudging Rukia almost imperceptibly to gain her attention on the matter.

"Yeah, you feeling alright?" Rukia honed in on her too, quickly interpreting and noticing the cause of Ichigo's nudge.

"Oh I'm fine! Just a little tired! Friday, you know?" She laughed lightly, trying to alleviate their concerns, at the same time becoming irrationally worried that they knew something.

But she didn't know that they did. They had picked something up.

Ichigo wasn't very good at it due to his lack of experience in such matters, but, being in such close proximity to her, was able to pick up something out of the ordinary. Rukia, the much more experienced of the two, but less powerful, sensed it as well after Ichigo brought it to her attention. The two angels locked eyes, silently communicating.

Later the two angels went off to the side, out of hearing range of their classmates.

"What do you think?" Ichigo asked, whispering.

"There's definitely something there, but it doesn't seem to harbor a malevolent intent. I don't think we need to alert the Society. We should probably just keep a closer eye on her." Rukia responded.

"Alright." The two walked back over to the group of friends, acting as if nothing had happened.

But Orihime had noticed. She could not stop the pang of hurt that resounded through her. Even though she knew that she and Ichigo would probably never work, that Rukia was a far better match for him, she had not completely let him go.

She was plagued the rest of the school day with more somber thoughts of Ichigo. She knew that she should probably stop torturing herself over it, that it was unhealthy, but she couldn't stop herself.

School ended with the bell, and Tatsuki quickly catching up to her before she went off to practice.

"Hey, do you want to go to that new restaurant downtown tonight?" She said between breaths.

"Um, actually Tatsuki I was planning on going to bed early. Maybe later." She said, edging away, eager to return home and get some answers.

"Oh, alright. See you Orihime! Take care!" She shouted over her shoulder and she jogged back to the locker room to change.

Orihime power walked to the bus stop, nearly vibrating with nervous energy the whole ride back and running upstairs to her apartment. She burst through the door, running excitedly from room to room trying to find him.

But he wasn't there.

She sat down on her bed, dejected.

The faint sound of shuffling came out from her closet. Could it be? It was big enough for him to fit in there, disproportionately large compared to the rest of her apartment. She got up and cautiously pattered over to the door, on guard in case it wasn't him. Carefully, oh so carefully, she pried the sliding door open.

Though she had been hoping that it was him in her closet it still made her jump when she peeked through and found him sitting cross-legged on the floor. But he didn't move, not a muscle. She tried looking at his face, trying to understand what exactly he was doing on her closet floor.

His eyes were closed. Sleeping.

She sucked in a breath, realizing how loud she'd been while traipsing around, trying to look for him. It did make sense that he was nocturnal. If the sun burned her, she'd probably sleep during the day too. And he looked kind of like a bat. Coincidence?...maybe.

She decided after a few moments of chastising herself for being so loud earlier that she would have to find out about the bat-people when he woke up, and that she should probably go out for a little.

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When I woke I could hear the sounds of the girl opening her door, keys jingling in that confusingly enjoyable yet irritating way.

Earlier it had occurred to me that I was not affected by her soul residue as I had been before. It was still nice, of course, but I had no trouble ignoring it and being able to move. I theorized it was due to the fact that I had spent so much time submersed in it that I was able to build up an immunity. It was not implausible.

I decided that now was the time to emerge and maybe answer her questions, though I knew she wouldn't like some of the answers.

She was in the room with the large, black rectangle, another object with lots of buttons in hand, sprawled out on the cushioned seat. I could smell the scent of angel from where I stood. She had been with a pair before coming back here. Did she know?

I did not know how exactly to approach her without startling her, knowing that my entrance had been silent, so I didn't bother trying.

As I had predicted, she gave out a small shriek, jumping up from her seated position and turning to me with wide eyes the moment my movements became visible to her.

"You scared me!"

"Yes. I did." I replied. Why did she insist on stating the obvious?

As her heartbeat slowed, she began asking the questions I'd known and dreaded were coming. It was almost inevitable that she would have a fit at one point or another in response.

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"Who were you with before you came in?" He didn't really give me a chance to recover from his ambush.

"My friends, Ichigo and Rukia. We went to a movie." I had run into them on my walk, just outside my apartment. I'd first thought that they were on a date, but then they insisted that I join them. So I guess not.

His eyes hardened.

"Why?" What did it matter who I was with?

"It would explain the smell. Your friends are angels." His tone was slightly more dangerous than before, the hairs on the back of my neck standing up in response.

"What are you talking about?" Last time I checked, they didn't have glowing white wings and halos above their heads.

His green and yellow eyes simply stared, not giving anything away.

"Alright, my friends are 'angels'...what does that make you?" I couldn't help but put little air quotes around the word. I mean, come on, I saw Rukia punch Ichigo in the face before. There's no way either of them could be anything other than normal. Well, maybe they're a little violent. But still.

"A demon." His voice was flat, merely stating facts.

Oh, of course...what else? Are there going to be pixies next? How about wiener dogs with unicorn horns and purple wings floating through my walls like they have the ability of osmosis? Or, better yet, how about squirrels that change colors and start burying rainbows instead of nuts? _Why not?_

I suppose my face was rather pale because he said:

"It seems as though this is disturbing you. Perhaps you should sit down." And I decided that yes, yes I should.

I sort of felt around for the couch while he came around to stand in front of me.

"It is apparent to me that neither were you aware of this nor is it a good idea for me to divulge any information you cannot handle. Therefore, I suggest you take a moment to compose yourself and then ask." He spoke quietly, I thought he was trying to be as not-disturbing as possible so I didn't pass out.

I wasn't going to pass out. The black spots everywhere were normal. Right, okay maybe I was a little lightheaded. I didn't know why exactly I was freaking out. Maybe because, since it was obvious that he was not human, that then he could be a demon. Which meant that, yes, maybe my friends were supernatural beings with crazy powers of light beams coming out of their eyeballs and I never knew. Friends were supposed to be honest to each other. Friends tell each other things.

So I took a deep breath, something that I seemed to need to do a lot lately, and closed my eyes. It didn't help, so I put my head between my knees. Roses are red. My hair is orange. The sun is yellow. Grass is green. The ocean is blue. It was an old trick Sora taught me to calm down and I still used it when I got a little panicked: name colors and then things that are that color, start simple and don't stop until you feel better.

My head finally not spinning, I opened my eyes. He was watching me calmly, having found the ottoman footrest and sat down, waiting for me. It kind of struck me how differently he handled the situation than my friends would have. I had panicked in front of them. Once. They'd rushed towards me, crushing me. I hadn't been able to breathe. Eventually, I'd passed out. I just couldn't handle that much chaos. Thank goodness I'd never been asked to dissect a cat again. Ugh. But there he was, calmly waiting for me to get a hold of myself, not crowding me or shaking my shoulders. He was a picture of calm, though if I'd been anyone else I'm sure his appearance would have flustered me further. But I was me, and it didn't.

It occurred to me that I did not know something quite simple, a fundamental part to knowing someone. It was probably best to start with this question, something basic. Something found in normal conversations.

"What's your name?" My voice came out a little shaky, seemed I'd not completely calmed.

"I am Ulquiorra Cifer." He was quiet, yet his voice was loud in the deafeningly silent room.

"Ok...Ulquiorra. You're a demon and, according to you my friends are angels."

He did not move or speak, merely waiting for me to actually arrive at a question. It was so contrary to what I was used to it threw me off-balance.

"Where are you from?" Logical progression, he didn't look like anyone I'd ever seen before.

"Hell, but I've no intention of ever going back." His tail had come around to lay in front of him, twitching. Yet his face bore no emotion… did his tail express what his face did not? Interesting theory...

"Why?"

He sighed, not seeming to want to go into this subject, but continued nevertheless.

"Hell, as you should know, is not a pleasant place. Demons consume each other to gain strength so they in turn will not be eaten, and our superior, the devil, forces us to do his will, even to the point where we are destroyed trying. I found a loophole in my vow, and was able to leave without anyone noticing."

"What vow?" I don't know how I was suddenly taking this so calmly. Wasn't I about to go splat on the floor thirty seconds ago?

"We call it a Hollow Oath. If violated, it will increase the size of our hollows, quite painfully, until we are no more."

"Okay. How did you become a demon?"

"I know not how. I simply woke one day as I am." Well there goes my little fantasy of little baby demons going to school. Oh, baby Ulquiorra, that would be something to see.

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